


The Proposals

by xo_stardust720



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: 4+1 Things, Drabble, F/M, Romance, SO MUCH FLUFF, fluff fluff fluff, romanogers - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-06
Updated: 2017-12-06
Packaged: 2019-02-11 06:50:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12929826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xo_stardust720/pseuds/xo_stardust720
Summary: “So, what... I’m your work wife? I don’t recall hearing a proposal, Rogers,” she teases.[or, the 4 times Steve proposed and Natasha thought he was joking, and the 1 time she realized he was serious]





	The Proposals

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sleepygrimm](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepygrimm/gifts), [Faith2nyc](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faith2nyc/gifts).



> Inspired by the conversation posts that I saw on [beveronica's tumblr](https://beveronica.tumblr.com/)! And she was so incredibly sweet to let me use them in this fic. Thanks so much darling!
> 
> Dedicated to faith2nyc (who always brightens my day with her romanogers edits on tumblr/instagram) and sleepygrimm (for always being so supportive. Happy belated birthday!) 

**One.**

Steve is standing at the edge of a field overlooking the sunset in Wakanda when he first feels a presence behind him. The feeling creeps up on him slowly and although he’s suddenly alert, he’s not filled with alarm. If anything, a warm feeling spreads across his core, his chest loosens, and a smile springs to his face… and he’s just _happy_. There’s just no other word for it. He’s happy. There’s a huge sense of relief filling him at knowing for sure that she’s alright. She’s okay. She’s here.

He doesn’t turn around. Instead, he waits. He knows exactly who is standing behind him and if he’s honest with himself, he knows he’s been waiting for her. He’s been waiting for a little while now.

Three weeks, four days, and ten hours to be exact.

(But whose counting?)

She comes beside him and for a moment, they’re standing in silence. It’s comfortable and familiar, and it feels so, _so_ right... and he feels perfectly at home right there next to her. It’s a feeling he revels in because he honestly can’t remember the last time he’s felt like this. He turns so that he’s facing her, and blinks because the first thing he notices is that her hair is now blonde and _that_ was something he definitely wasn’t expecting. “Your hair… it’s blonde,” he says dumbly, and then immediately feels foolish for stating something that was so obvious.

Natasha laughs and his heart soars at the sound. “What, you don’t like it?” she winks.

“I didn’t say that,” he smiles and shakes his head. His eyes roam over her, carefully taking in every detail. “You always look good, Nat.”

She gives him that little smirk of hers. A quirk of her lips, and a teasing glance. It makes his heart race. And that’s when he knows... something between them feels _different_. “I’m sorry about Barnes,” she offers.

Steve feels a jolt go through him at the mention of Bucky’s name. He wasn’t surprised that Natasha was aware of things that were going on… she was always aware, always in the know. It was in her nature. It had only been a few weeks since the fallout with Tony and the other Avengers over the Sokovia Accords, and things hadn’t really settled down any less, but that didn’t make the decision that Bucky made to be put under hurt any less. Their friends were still imprisoned underwater in the Raft and he still had to figure out how to get them out of there. Truth be told, he was glad that Natasha had shown up. He wasn’t sure how he was going to get them out of there without her help. “It’s okay,” he shakes his head. “At least it’s his choice.”

“I know it might not seem like it now, but things will be alright,” she tells him.

“I didn’t get a chance to say this before, but thank you for letting us escape at the airport.”

“I knew you weren’t going to stop. It was the right thing to do.”

“Do you regret it?” It was something he’d been wondering ever since she had let them go.

She shakes her head. “No, I don’t. It was the easiest decision I had to make ever since this whole mess began.”

Her words fills him with a warm, fluttery feeling. “So, how do we break the others out of prison? I’m assuming you have a plan.”

She smirks at him. “Of course I do.”

Steve laughs. “Just like old times, huh?”

“You know, you never called Lillian from accounting. I hear she’s still single.”

“Nah. Why would I need to call her, when I have you? You’re probably the only woman in my life that really gets what’s going on with everything.” 

Natasha raises an eyebrow. “Am I now?” she grins. “Shared life experience?”

He gives her a lopsided grin. “Well, you’ve definitely shared some experiences with me in the last few years.”

“So, what... I’m your work wife? I don’t recall hearing a proposal, Rogers,” she teases.

Steve laughs, feeling lighter than he had in weeks. And in this moment, it was a feeling he stubbornly clung to. It was as if their camaraderie had never waned and been torn apart by circumstances and distance. Their banter felt natural, as if the last few weeks, years… had never happened. “Was that an invitation?”

“Try it and see.”

“Natasha,” he pauses. “Will you-”

“Don’t forget to say please.”

“Shhh, Nat. I’m trying to propose here… so, will you-”

“There’s no finesse, no romance. I’m disappointed, Rogers.”

“ _Natasha.”_

“Alright, alright. Get on with it.”

“Natasha Romanoff…” he breaks off to let the anticipation build. “Will you…  be my...  work wife?”

She pauses for dramatic effect but ultimately dissolves in laughter. “I suppose you’ll do.”

“Now who has no finesse?”

“Yeah, yeah. Come on, work hubby, let’s go save our friends.”

 

* * *

**Two.**

There was candy everywhere.

As far as parties went, the one that Tony was throwing was pretty tame compared to ones he’d thrown in the past. Though “tame” for Tony was still pretty elaborate, Steve found.

They were gathered at the Avengers Tower to help celebrate Tony and Pepper’s sudden engagement. Things were still shaky at best, but they were all together and that was what was most important at the moment. It was a happy, momentous occasion and there was no way any of them were going to let a little awkwardness ruin it.

At some point, Tony, in true Tony Stark fashion, had decided that the best way to break the tension was to bring the candy. After all, who _didn’t_ love candy? The Avengers tower had been turned into a real life version of Candyland, bowls of brightly colored artificial sugar adorned every surface. There was even a cotton candy machine in the corner.

“I love candy as much as the next guy… but this is a little excessive, even for me,” Sam said as he walked over to where Steve was sitting at the bar nursing his drink, while Natasha stood behind the counter playing bartender. “I think I’m starting to get a stomachache.”

“If you ate that much candy, you should also think about making an appointment with your dentist,” Natasha grins as she placed a beer in front of Sam.

“Hey Nat,” Steve says. Natasha turns to find Steve holding out a ring pop towards her with a shit-grin expression on his face. “Will you marry me?”

Natasha stares at the ring for a few seconds before she snorts and rolls her eyes. “Good one,” she laughs. “The least you could do is get on one knee, Rogers.”

“Would you say yes if I tried again with Blue Raspberry?”

Natasha winks. “You know me so well, soldier.”

Sam looks back and forth between the two of them. “Am I missing something here?”

"Inside joke," Steve replies. Sam looks at her, and she shrugs, a smile playing at her lips. It takes all she has not to laugh out loud.

(And if Natasha's heart starts beating a little faster when she sees Steve smile at her, no one ever need to know.)

 

* * *

 

**Three.**

For the first time in seventy-five years, Steve wakes up with a hangover. His head is throbbing, he feels nauseous, the sunlight streaming through the windows was like hellfire as far as he was concerned, and he would like nothing more than for the ground to open up and swallow him whole, never to be seen again.

“Hey punk,” Bucky’s voice floats somewhere from his left and Steve half-heartedly lifts his head from his pillow. Bucky laughs at the sight of his best friend as he enters the room. “Boy, Thor’s mead from Asgard really packs a punch, huh? You were so drunk last night.”

“I wasn’t _that_ drunk.”

“Oh you were, my friend. You were. You were so drunk you started flirting with Natasha in front of everyone.”

“So what? She’s my girlfriend. I’m allowed to flirt with her.”

“You asked her if she was single, and then got upset when she said she wasn’t,” Bucky deadpans.

“He also proposed and then cried when I said no,” Natasha’s voice was filled with glee and deviousness as she entered the room, carrying a tray of breakfast. She sets the tray on the nightstand and then settles on the bed beside Steve, running a hand through his hair tenderly.

Steve groans, pulling the blanket over his head. “You mean, I didn’t dream that?”

“Nope,” Natasha smirks.

“I am never drinking anything that Thor gives me ever again,” he pulls the blanket back down and stared up at Natasha. “You said _no_ to my proposal?”

She shrugs. “Sorry, Rogers. I just couldn’t take you seriously with all the crying.”

He groans again, looking like a kicked puppy.

“Aw, cheer up Steve,” Bucky helps himself to Steve’s breakfast, dodging Natasha as she attempts to swat him away. “She may have said no to your proposal, but she did agree to move in with you. Take it as a win.”

 

* * *

 

**Four.**

“So, are you doing anything fun Saturday night?”

They’re standing aboard a giant aircraft and several thousand feet in the air, per Fury’s orders, preparing for their mission and a smile appears on Natasha’s face as memories, _precious moments_ of their past flitters in her mind. She hums, glancing over her shoulder to meet Steve’s bright, happy grin and his intense gaze. She relishes the look of adoration on his face. “Well, it _was_ supposed to have been date night with my boyfriend… but I got called into work.”

“Jeez, sounds like your boss is a jerk.”

She shrugs and winks. “It’s okay, I get to spend Saturday night with my work husband instead.”

Steve adjusts his shield, and fiddles with the intercom in his ear. “Honestly Nat, as your work husband, I’ve gotta tell you... I’ve always thought your last name sucks.”

That was _not_ what she had been expecting. She stops. “ _Excuse me?_ Is this some kind of Cold War joke, Rogers?”

“Nah, I was frozen through all that, remember? I just think it doesn’t suit you. You should change it.” Behind Steve, the quinjet doors begin to lower, and gusts of air comes rushing in and whipping through their hair.

“Change it to _what_?” Natasha honestly didn’t know whether to be amused or offended.

Steve smirks at her. “Change it to Rogers.” And then he jumps out of the plane.

She stares after him, unable to process what had just transpired. And then it hit her.

_Wait… did he just -?_

She turns her intercom on. “ROGERS! DID YOU JUST INADVERTENTLY PROPOSE TO ME AND THEN ACTUALLY JUMP OUT OF A PLANE?”

His resounding laugh in her ear was all she got in response.

 

* * *

 

**\+ One.**

Before Steve came along, Natasha could count on one hand exactly how many romantic dates she had been on. It wasn’t unusual in her line of work, she didn’t always have time for romance and she never thought she was ever missing out on anything. But once Steve was in the picture and they got together, her life with him was filled with nothing but romance and love.

Breakfast at midnight, romantic strolls on the beach, snuggles, foot rubs, and more things that Steve did that she couldn’t even name at the top of her head.

And right now, they were ice skating at Rockefeller Center. Steve had rented out the venue for the evening so that it was just the two of them right there, and Natasha supposed that this was a great perk of dating Captain America… he had sway that pretty much no one else in the world did, and people often bent over backwards for him. Christmas was coming and it was a big tourist attraction, and Natasha highly doubted that Rockefeller Center would willingly be closed for anybody else.

Maybe that was why she didn’t see it coming.

“Are you having fun?” Steve asked as they made their way around the rink. They slowed to a stop and he skated until he was directly in front of her. He smiled at her and she could feel her heart racing.

She laughed and nodded. “I always have fun with you, Rogers.”

“Yeah? _Always,_ huh?” He gives her his dimpled smile and she feels her heart flip over in her chest. “How would you feel about _always having fun with me_ for the rest of your life?”

Shock filled her as he lets go of her hands and slowly bends down so that his left knee was touching the ground. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small jewelry box. “Steve -”

The diamond ring glitters underneath the holiday lights and her breath catches at the sight of it. “Nat, I love you. I’ve always loved you. And these last few years being with you has been some of the best of my life. Will you marry me?”

Tears spring to her eyes and she laughed again. “Are you proposing for real this time?”

“Beyonce says that ‘if you like it, then you should put a ring on it’ and who am I to argue?” He smirked, and she couldn’t have found it more endearing if she tried. “So?”

“Yes, Rogers. Of course I’ll marry you!”

Steve lets out a delighted laugh and stands up. He slides the ring onto her finger and kisses her deeply.

And they’ll live happily ever after.

(All the while kicking ass and taking names, of course.)

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> If you're gonna leave a comment, please let them be nice ones. Kudos are appreciated! :) 
> 
>  
> 
> (and if anyone cares, the next update for Two Hearts Set on Fire is in the works..)


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